


The Primera Pluma

by bees_knees2



Series: Ad Lucem [2]
Category: The Originals (TV), The Vampire Diaries & Related Fandoms, The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: AU but only kinda, Angst, Attempt at humour, Bonnie deserves the world, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, It's Book 2 and I Still Don't Know How to Tag, Kai Parker is a little shit, Magic Theory, No Beta we die lonely, PoC, Protective Originals, The Originals Still need a friend, badass OC, i'll add as i go - Freeform, very self indulgent, very strong language
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-01
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-13 04:35:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 17,495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29770767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bees_knees2/pseuds/bees_knees2
Summary: Two vampires and two witches walk into a Prison World inhabited by a psychotic kid-killer. Chaos ensues.Okay, so maybe calling the infamous Kol Mikaelson just a vampire and calling Annalise Caelis just a witch might be a teeny tiny oversimplification, but this was going to be a shit-show either way.Between feeling like the cosmic punchline of a joke she didn't understand, running away from her feelings (because of unresolved trauma excuse you), and people constantly trying to kill her family - Annalise was about ready to deck someone. With a tree.
Relationships: Bonnie Bennett/Lorenzo "Enzo" St. John, Elena Gilbert/Damon Salvatore/Stefan Salvatore, Hayley Marshall/Elijah Mikaelson, Klaus Mikaelson & Original Female Character(s), Kol Mikaelson/Original Female Character(s), Marcel Gerard/Rebekah Mikaelson
Series: Ad Lucem [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2187834
Comments: 21
Kudos: 52





	1. Lost

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always The Vampire Diaries Franchise doesn't belong to me - only my characters and plot ideas do :)  
> New readers to my series: I can't tell you what to do, but I can guarantee this book's gonna get a whole lot less confusing if you read the first installation of this series; the Caelis Connection, first :D.  
> Readers who've supported me since the beginning, and ones who've joined me more recently, thank you so much for following along!  
> As always, Strong language warning.  
> Hope you Enjoy!

White.

The light flared brightly as her eyes squinted open.

Was this the bright white light people walk towards in death? Does it illuminate her path to peace…or did it just signify the great nothingness that existed beyond life?

Either way, she didn't have time to spiral into an existential crisis and she had just spent…an indeterminate amount of time in an indeterminate place so dark and strangely _comforting,_ that her sight immediately seized and burned painfully from the brightness around her, and she was filled with the sudden overwhelming desire to _go back._

It felt as though she was untethered, free floating and _ripped_ away from comfort and peace. The reason for her earlier urgency had faded to the back of her mind and she was struggling to put her thoughts in order.

 _Fuck_ her head hurt.

Her sight burned painfully as she squinted her eyes open further into manageable slits. Despite the bright white behind her vision only a few moments prior, as she looked upwards from where she lay on the cold dirt, a cloudless night sky blanketed the darkened foliage that rose high above her. Where the hell was she?

Wincing, she lifted her hand to her pounding head which felt as though someone was smashing her skull in vindictively with a sledgehammer. Her mind struggled to piece together vague explanation as to how she managed to end up here, what events lead to it, and _why_ her whole body stung like a wound exposed to cold air.

Well, laying here in pain wouldn't get her the answers she needed. Groaning as she moved her stiff limbs, she straightened, managing to get up shakily on her on two feet, only to falter after taking a couple of shaky steps forward. The clearing illuminated around her in the clear moonlight looked...odd. There was a deep furrow of land stretching from one edge of the clearing to the other, as if something powerful had gouged out the Earth and then scarred over. A lone stump of a tree stood slightly tilted as if the ground had moved from under it, and though everything else looked relatively normal, her eyes caught on a few darkened trunks of trees significantly, and she knew instinctively that they were scorch marks. More worryingly, as she turned to take in more of her surroundings, she realised that the bed of wildflowers that she had just risen from had outlined her perfectly – almost as if they had _grown_ around her.

A brief flicker of a moment passed before her eyes; a picture of black funeral clothes and of white feathers...

Her memory echoed of a scream, then falling as something lodged deep in her own chest…she had died here too, hadn’t she?

Fuck, was this the Afterlife? Was this death?

If it was…where had she been in the time spanning her death and now? What was that dark but _warm,_ welcoming embrace she remembered?

The ground beneath her trembled angrily as if in reply.

Right, she’d been… _there._

Been with the Other.

Until she had intervened and torn away from them.

Wait…there was something else…something odd. She was missing something. Patting her pockets she turned in a semicircle, trying to put a finger on what she had lost. When she confirmed she carried nothing at all on her person apart from the dirt-ridden clothes she wore, she rubbed at her eyes tiredly. What the hell was going on?

Her limbs locked in sudden shock as her eyes flew wide open in realisation. No resistance met her fingers as they rubbed at her nose. She'd worn glasses once upon a time, hadn’t she? But her surroundings weren't blurred and she could _see_ leaves instead of just blurs of green so _what the fuck?_ She found herself longing for the familiar weight of the glasses on her nose, feeling almost empty without it.

As she stood there for a moment, feeling the loss of her identity far more keenly, the distant sounds of a yell cut through the otherwise silent night. She’d believed she was alone, wherever this place was, but now, the more she focused, the more she _felt_ three lights flaring familiarly to her left.

She found herself stumbling forwards unsteadily, gripping onto moss covered tree trunks for support as she staggered through the ferns and underbrush in their vague direction. The smell of damp dirt and fresh air assaulted her nose as she breathed unfamiliarly, hands coming up to cover her ears with a wince when birdcall shrilly pierced the air.

She wasn’t used to… _being aware_ of so much.

Gathering herself once more, she pushed herself to put one foot in front of the other until she had no more trees to brace herself against – the loud voices continued.

She had breached a clearing. 

There was a man and young woman standing opposite to where she had broken out of the tree line into the small clearing, facing defensively against the young man to her side. She instinctively knew that she knew them. She thinks she might have saved them, their lights at least. 

“Let me refresh your memory then.” The younger man was the one yelling, clearly incensed in anger. His snarled British drawl only made his fury more apparent. “I told you that if you let Silas rise again, I would make your lives a living hell.” He raised his arms with a dark grin. “Unfortunately for you, I’m a man of my word darlings.”

Light pants of exertion escaped her weakly as she watched the yelling man finally realised his companions' attention was on somewhere else; he swung around to face her angrily standing mere metres away from him only to completely freeze up, eyes wide. 

Her lips lifted into a stiff smile as her eyes caught on the dark gaze focused on her.

Something in her chest fluttered at how stony disbelief softened into something warmer in his expression.

The moment of stunned silence passed, then all of a sudden, the young woman rushed at her laughing giddily, managing to sweep her up into a tight embrace. The woman’s unexpected hug had her overbalancing and nearly falling backwards in shock, but the girl's hold on her never ceased as she rocked them tightly from side to side. When she was finally released, the girl’s green eyes were bright with happiness breaking through her confusion as she looked to her questioningly.

“Lissie. How-?”

“Good to have you back, Peach.” The older man walked closer too, and she managed to shoot him an unsure smile over the woman’s shoulder. The familiar twinkle in his blue eyes persisted as he gave her a single nod of respect.

The young man still hadn’t said anything, but she found herself actively seeking out his gaze once more, and she just _knew_ as she walked closer to his stiff figure slowly that eyes weren’t as dark as they looked, staring at her now. They were pools of rich coffee, golden amber – in the right light.

He was handsome, even with his face cast in shadow, and she felt her heart stutter. His lips pulled into a smirk that seemed…so, _so_ familiar.

“Hey stranger.”

She cleared her throat, wetting her dry lips as she managed a small grin at him, cheeks pulling from what felt like disuse. “You know, I bet you said that ironically,” she winced as she shifted, clutching at the side of her head as it throbbed painfully once more, “but uh…my brain currently feels like it fell into one of those buckets that you stomp grapes in, and I am finding it _really_ hard to put everything together right now.”

The man’s face fell in concern as his hands reached for her in an aborted gesture; his brow dipping heavily as he studied her. The other man beside him seemed to not share much of his companion’s concern, however, because he just rolled his eyes, with no trace of his earlier moment of sincerity. “Great, an amnesiac Peaches returning from the dead? _Just_ what we needed. Plus, aren’t you missing something four-eyes?”

“Shut up, Damon.” The girl at her side shot him an annoyed look before turning back to look at her in worry. “What’s uh…what’s the last thing you remember?”

“The -the dark.” She narrowed her eyes as she tried again to focus on her hazy memories. “Then I felt this tug, and I felt you,” She looked towards the girl whose signature flared familiarly. “You were trying to hold two…worlds together, and one was crumbling away.”

“The Other Side, yes.” The girl nodded supportively. “I was the Anchor.”

“And you…were all there, on the Other Side as it grew untethered…” She let her eyes wander while her thoughts put together scattered fragments of memory, now feeling a little more accessible and familiar, until fingers snapped impatiently in front of her face.

“Peach? Oi, earth to Peach.”

“Shut the hell up, I’m not amnesiac, dipshit, I’m just trying to collect my _fucking_ conscience here.”

The man whistled, raising his arms in mock surrender. “Oof. Testy.”

She rolled her eyes at him, then immediately got distracted by the handsome man approaching her, eyes roaming over her face intensely – a blush rose involuntarily to her cheeks.

“Lissa?”

The familiar cadence of voice, _his nickname for her_ -

Memories slammed into her all at once and echoes of conversations past sounded in her ears as her vision grew white again. Grabbing her head in pain, she groaned, curling up into herself. A high-pitched tone in her ears built higher and higher until all at once, it vanished along with her pain.

“Lissa.” His voice, _Kol’s_ voice sounded stronger, more insistent and worried than before. Before she knew it, Annalise lunged, throwing her arms around him, and burrowing her face in his canvas jacket. His arms tightened around her instinctively, holding her closer against him. The familiar smell of clean linen and something distinctly woodsy filled her nose as Lis buried it in his chest…but he…he no longer smelled like _death._ The smell wasn’t something she’d forget easily as it had felt cold and _absent of life-_ but…that had been when he was a ghost.

When he had kissed her.

A chill passed up her spine and she stiffened suddenly, remembering Silas’ accusations.

Stepping back abruptly from their embrace, Annalise tore her eyes from his lingering gaze that searched her own as she conspicuously distanced herself from Kol with a quick clearing of her throat. There were more pressing matters at hand. She turned quickly to face Bonnie and Damon. “I- I thought I died.”

“You did.” Bonnie spoke as she reached out to squeeze Lis’ hand solemnly. “We watched you just...get yanked into the ground. Klaus practically tore up the forest floor trying to find you.” Annalise dropped her gaze to the ground guiltily as Bonnie continued. “Then he tried to get me to find you, on the Other Side.”

“I-” Lis swallowed heavily, feet scuffing the forest floor. “That’s not where I was.”

“I know. That's what I told him.” Bonnie shook her head deep in thought as Lis felt Kol’s concerned eyes drill into the side of her head. “You weren’t like the other supernaturals that died, you didn’t pass through me. I felt something hurt, but afterwards, nature just felt…more powerful.”

Lis nodded in recollection. “I remember meeting this… _being_ and being _so_ much in awe of it. I think we existed in a plane by ourselves, but I felt connected to _everything,_ like we were at the core of something…indescribably vast. I think it was Gaia.”

“Your ancestor? You saw her.” Kol moved closer, eyes glinting curiously as Annalise nodded her head, distractedly, unable to meet his dark gaze for too long.

“Simple answer? Yeah.” She shrugged. “Complicated answer? She’s not just my ancestor anymore – she is the embodiment of Earth. Silas once laughed in my face when I told him that I had the powers of a deity. He said I’d figure it out. And I think I did.”

Bonnie narrowed her eyes as she prompted her. “Lis?”

“A deity is so inexplicably powerful, and _more._ Larger than life takes on a whole new meaning. I felt my power melt into it, _literally_ , and all at once I was more too. Everything was muted, but sharp, like I was connected to everything and nothing at once. No mortal could ever _hope_ to wield that power, that feeling of being everything and everywhere at once. I think that’s how I knew you all were in danger. Your energies felt familiar in that crumbling world, and I couldn’t let you die, so that’s when I pulled you to me, to-to here.” Lis paused, looking around. “Anyone know where exactly here is?”

The world appeared normal, superficially – but the magic around her felt older, and languid. Unmoving, almost. Most jarringly, no matter how far Annalise spread her senses, she couldn’t locate another being for miles around.

This…wasn’t right.

“We were actually gonna let you answer that one, Lis.” Damon shot her a sarcastic smile.

“I’m sorry, I-” Lis tilted her head, fingers coming up to massaging her temple as a sharp ache returned as she searched her scrambled memories. “I remember worrying that I wouldn’t meet you in time. Then something guided me here instead. A spirit, I believe.”

“Grams.” Bonnie grew teary. “She said that help was on the way. That we’d be safe.”

“We were dead, Bonnie.” Damon said sceptically, hands in his pockets with his hip cocked, looking significantly at Kol. “Ironically, we are considerably _less_ safe now while stuck with an immortal maniac with anger issues.”

“Careful mate.” Kol’s eyes flashed dangerously as his lips curved into a intimidating scowl. “Keep in mind that out of the two of us, you’re more likely to die from tripping into a tree.”

“Yeah? Well, how about you shove that tree up your-”

“Okay, _jeez_ , you guys are literal children.” Bonnie rolled her eyes, stepping away from the clearing and leading an entertained Lis behind her as she walked out if the woods, muttering under her breath. “Not even _five minutes_ …”

“Where are you going? Hey?” Damon called out from behind them, throwing his hands up in frustration before reluctantly following behind Kol, who had dismissed him in favour of walking after the girls.

-

Stepping out of the woods and onto a familiar road, the four supernaturals paused to take in their strange surroundings. Cars were parked on the sides of the empty road in eery replication of everyday life, and the town of Mystic Falls in front of them was lit up in front of them as if in welcome.

It was a ghost town, in every sense of the word – considering all of them were, in fact, dead.

“Guys?” Annalise unconsciously pulled her denim jacket tighter around her. “I don’t feel any energy signatures. Nothing at all.” Bonnie and Lis exchanged a wary glance before starting to walk up the road towards the city.

They looked back as Damon spoke up sardonically, hand in his mouth. “Well, I feel a fang.” Kol watched him in unveiled disgust before managing to catch Lis’ amused smile – a smirk immediately graced his lips as their eyes met, but Lis was quick to look away. She turned back to the road ahead as Damon continued. “So, either I’m a dead vampire, or Mystic Falls is no longer magic-free.”

“Magic Free?” She questioned curiously.

“Oh yeah, remember the Travelers, Peach?”

“You mean the ones that tried to keep Amara hidden from Silas?" She shrugged. "I have to admit I don’t know much about them.”

“The Travelers are a nomadic coven – not by choice – able to specialise in darker witchcraft they call the pure form of magic.” Kol interrupted, receiving surprised looks from Bonnie and Damon. Lis felt a small proud smile grace her lips while she looked straight ahead as he continued. “Witches cursed them to be unable to practice traditional magic and prevented them from gathering in the same place for long. They jump into bodies of unsuspecting humans to further their agenda.” Annalise assumed the surprise hadn’t moved from Damon’s expression so she turned, passing Kol a nostalgic grin.

“You always were the best teacher I ever had.”

“Well, centuries of experience helps, darling.” Kol smirked looking almost as if he was bashful at her praise. “They hate witches – I ran into some that sought protection from the Travelers as payment for their knowledge.”

As Annalise turned away again, smiling a bit wider; she pretended not to notice Bonnie’s beam.

“Right, them.” Damon nodded sourly, returning back to his story. “They kidnapped Stefan and Elena – grabbed their blood for this big spell. Apparently, they’ve been hunting the doppelgangers since they were first created, going as far as to curse them to be drawn to each other in order to make finding them easier.” Lis shot him a sympathetic gaze, which he waved off immediately, remembering the conversation they had by the car after meeting Qetsiyah - that had _been...nine_ months ago. “Long story short – after Katherine confirmed with us that you died, she bartered away the blood she collected from you to the Travelers so she could possess Elena. The Travelers used your blood to get enough life magic for their leader – Markos, to jump over from the Other Side, then used the doppelganger blood in combination for their Purification Spell.” 

“Which worked because I was dead in theory - for the sake of the spell, my Life magic was more accessible to the Other side. This spell wouldn't have been possible if I had been alive." She realised before frowning. "I…think I remember being channelled - it was what woke me up. Fucking Katherine.” Lis swore. “What’s this spell?” Bonnie chose to jump in.

“The Purification Spell created a barrier within which all types of magic other than their own was…negated. Stefan’s death stopped it from going past the town borders.”

Annalise paused, eyes widening in panic. “I’m sorry – I didn’t see Stefan when I-”

“Relax, Peach.” Damon gave her an appreciative clap on her shoulder as he continued past her. “He’s alive and well. We gave the Travelers the fiery death they deserved and managed to sneak everyone else back to Earth through the barrier when it was overwhelmed by their deaths.”

“I felt the weakness in the veil.” Kol confirmed, brushing up absent-mindedly against Annalise’s side as Bonnie and Damon took the lead. Lis was thankful the hidden moon did little illuminate her heated cheeks as he continued. “I was on my way to pass across too before the Other Side collapsed into oblivion.”

“Wait, guys.” Bonnie had stopped, face ashen as she stood in the middle of the street. There in front of them stood the Mystic grill, illuminated in vintage lights and neon signs. “Look.”

Damon squinted at it, looking more displeased than confused. “…I definitely blew that up an hour ago.”

“Classy.” Kol’s tone suggested it was anything but, and Damon just rolled his eyes, turning to Lis instead.

“Where the hell _are_ we? And I don’t mean geographically.”

-

The four had reached the general consensus that they’d spend the night at the Grill. Lis and Bonnie had managed to raid the kitchen to make themselves a good dinner of fries and burgers, while Damon and Kol were off on a blood run. The Mystic Grill, empty of everyone else, had a different ambiance as the girls sat at a lonely, illuminated booth while they dug into their meals.

“So, now we’re both alone,” Bonnie smirked cheekily as she picked up a chip, “tell me again why you’re avoiding Kol?”

“I’m not Bon." Lis rolled her eyes, eating a chip nonchalantly. "I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Of course.” Bonnie raised a disbelieving brow, not buying her act for a moment. “You smile at him, sure – but I was expecting a grand reunion, y’know? He certainly seems to want one.”

“He does?” Lis picked at her dinner doubtfully, but at Bonnie’s insistent nod. “Look, it’s just Silas said some things that-”

“Oh, don’t tell me you believe that _crap_ about him using you?” Annalise looked startled at her friend’s annoyed tone. Bonnie elaborated. “When I realised you were going to power the spell to make me Anchor, grab the medallion etcetera, I couldn’t let you go alone, could I?”

Annalise grinned at her warmly. “You were there?”

“I was.” Bonnie pointed at her with a chip soaked in ketchup, eyes narrowed. “And we both know Silas was desperate, trying to make sure the Other Side was destroyed. Anyone with two eyes could tell Kol cares about you.” Annalise rolled her eyes, feeling a blush creep up her cheeks as she shook her head. Bonnie narrowed her eyes. “You don’t believe me?”

“Look, yeah I care about him, and I doubt he _doesn’t_ care about me – we’re friends, but…I just- the kiss was desperate-”

“You _kissed?!”_

Annalise blushed harder at Bonnie’s excited squeal, shaking her head in denial to get through to the young witch. “Yeah, but the circumstances around it, I- he was dying, _again_. And I was feeling lost, and we both just needed some comfort. That’s _it,_ okay?” Bonnie looked doubtful, so Annalise’s voice raised insistently. “I don’t even know how I feel, okay? I can’t- This _never_ ends well, not for me. So, just… _no,_ okay Bon?”

Lis stubbornly poked at her dinner at Bonnie’s resigned silence, feeling guilty for snapping. It was just that…sure; she wanted to help people. That was something she generally couldn’t help, ironically enough. Caring? That was harder; family had only ever let her down time and time again – the closest she’d ever gotten was Nik, Beks and Elijah but even then…she wasn’t blind to the toll caring for them took on her.

But love? Caring about someone enough that they fill your every waking moment? That losing them would _destroy_ you?

Love had nearly happened for Lis once before, before Nik happened, and the world had simultaneously gone to shit _and_ become better than she could have ever imagined. It was suffice to say it hadn’t ended well. Not even remotely.

What scared her further was that childish first crush was _nothing_ compared to what she felt for Kol when he’d died, or what it could grow to be if given the chance. 

Annalise had long since resigned to the fact that love wasn’t going to happen for her – just the fact that she’d gained a sort-of family over the last year and a half of her dismal life had been miraculous enough. Hell, her whole life was a testament to failed love. She couldn’t ever depend on it, which was why she fought so hard for everyone else to never feel as cursed as she felt. 

Bonnie stared at her for a long moment before taking another bite of her burger. When she spoke next, her words filled the lingering silence quietly. “I just think you owe it to yourself to at least try.”

The Grill’s glass doors opened abruptly, startling both girls as Kol stormed past them, single-mindedly headed straight to the bar. Annalise looked after him, surprised that he hadn’t even spared her a glance as he angrily poured himself a glass of bourbon. He’d been fighting to catch her eye ever since they’d found each other once more and now he wasn’t even looking in her vague direction. That was concerning.

He wasn’t just angry…something was up. Lis was still looking at him in worry when Damon stepped into their booth, dropping a black canvas duffel filled with blood bags on the table with a small thud. Bonnie shot him a suspicious look. “Okay, what did you do?”

“Nothing.” Damon raised his hands innocently, eyes wide. “I was as well behaved as a nun.” His blue gaze flicked to Lis awkwardly. “We just might have overheard most of a…very private conversation.”

Oh.

Annalise’s eyes moved to Kol again, this time filled with utter mortification. She looked to Bonnie in desperation, asking mentally for a quick out, but Bonnie just shrugged while collecting her plate before passing her a smug smile. As she stood, the witch beckoned Damon to follow with her head. “Come on. I want to finish my dinner outside.”

“Thank god.” Damon followed after her almost immediately, looking about ready to run from the tension filling the restaurant.

Annalise shut her eyes tight in regret and let her head fall back on the cushioned booth with a low thud. Fuck, she couldn’t put this off now. What if she’d already ruined everything? Kol was one of her best friends, and she couldn’t imagine a world without him within her reach. Her eyes wandered to her ashen fingertips while she released a slow breath. Lis had battled the nature of death and the Other Side to try to bring him back. Whatever doubts she had about their relationship, she couldn’t deny the lengths she’d go for him. How much he’d meant to her in such a short amount of time. After being such a large source of stability and comfort at many tumultuous times in her regrettably short life, she _needed_ him.

And now she’d messed up big time.

Fuck.

Inhaling quickly, Annalise stood before she had the chance to second guess herself before making her way over to the bar to sit at stool next to him. Vaguely she realised that they were sitting in the exact seats they sat at when they’d first come here, with Nik. When she’d felt comfortable enough with him to muffle her laughter into his shoulder _._ Only now, it felt as though their seats were much further away. Lis stifled her urge to move closer to him.

What on earth was it about him that made her feel irrevocably safer around a self-described mass murderer? Jeez, she needed professional help. But…looking at him in the dim light of the bar while he sipped at his glass of bourbon with a clenched jaw and hard gaze trained stubbornly in front of him, Annalise felt an itch in her fingers. To reach for him, to run her fingers down the sharp planes of his face, and to bury them once more in that soft hair.

To kiss him.

Annalise blinked rapidly, mouth feeling suddenly dry as his hard gaze settled on her – his eyes shimmered, reflecting the crystal brown of the bourbon he bitterly took another sip of.

“I’m sorry.” Lis rushed out before she lost the nerve. “I didn’t mean-”

“Mean for me to hear how you felt about us? About the kiss?” Kol chuckled sharply. “Too late darling. I heard all about how scared you are.”

“I’m not scared.” Annalise found herself biting out defensively. “I just don’t think it’s _smart_ when there’s so much going on _._ We need to figure out where we are, what we need to do to get out of here, back to _life._ To our world. _”_

“There’s always going to be something else going on, Lissa.” Kol threw back the last of his drink, letting the glass fall heavily back on to the bar top in finality. “Let me know if you want me in that life of yours that you’re so desperate to get back to.”

No, she needed to fix this. He couldn’t leave. He stood, but Annalise caught his arm hurriedly. “Kol, I-I don’t want to fight with you. I need you in my life, I _do,_ but-”

“But you don’t want _us.”_ Kol’s face was inches away, and as Annalise tearily met his angry gaze, she found herself lost for words as he continued. “You made that clear when _you_ decided that for the both of us.”

Ripping his arm out of her grip, Annalise watched helplessly as Kol stalked angrily out of the Grill. Her chest hurt and something _splintered._

What the fuck?

Whirling around to locate where the sound had come from, she realised the glass Kol had drank from was in pieces. Something was building from within her, and the pressure was making her head hurt. Movement from behind her indicated someone had walked back into the bar – her senses told her it was Bonnie and Damon.

“Lis, you need to calm down.” She sounded panicked as she tried to approach, but Damon placed the no-longer magical witch behind him protectively.

“I _am_ calm.” Annalise breathed deeply as she clenched her fists, trying to tamp down the building tension from within her.

“Well, try saying that to the hailstorm outside.” Damon quirked up warily. “Oh wait. You won’t be able to hear yourself over the _hurricane winds_ blowing trees over like seedlings. Calm the _fuck down._ ”

Fuck, it was gonna erupt – instinctively, Annalise aimed the concentrated blast of power away from her friends cowering at the Grill’s glass doors.

Unfortunately, that meant the open bar.

Annalise ducked as the shelves of alcohol shattered outwards violently with a reverberating _crack_ , sending shards of glass flying and the lights flickering within the restaurant.

Oops.

Straightening, she turned sheepishly to the pair huddled at the door – Damon was hunching over Bonnie’s smaller frame, protecting her from the worst of the explosion. They straightened slowly, taking in the destruction of the bar in front of them. As Bonnie looked at her concerned, Damon’s gaze flicked from Lis to the destroyed bar in disbelief – watching the alcohol run together into a forlorn puddle of brown at her feet.

He grimaced.

“You really hate me, don’t you?”

-

Heat beat the back of her neck relentlessly, slightly dampening the low ponytail she’d managed to bundle her curls into. Her denim jacket hung heavily on her arm as she walked silently behind Damon and Bonnie, still thinking about the night before.

About her powers. About Kol.

He hadn’t come back.

Now her vastly improved senses told her he was never _too_ far away; a couple blocks or so, but Annalise found it maddening.

She missed him.

After nearly half a day of mostly avoiding him, she _missed_ him. How freaking hard was it for her feelings to reach a goddammed conclusion?

Bonnie and Damon had opted to giving her space for now – Bonnie kept shooting her guilty looks when she thought she wasn’t looking – knowing her, she probably regretted leaving Annalise to talk with Kol. Pushing her to confront her feelings.

Damon…just didn’t care.

He was still put out at the fact that she’d destroyed one of his biggest sources of alcohol though. He had his leather jacket flung over one shoulder, with the blood-duffel hanging on the other as he swung his arms boredly.

Bonnie was looking around thoughtfully at the deserted suburbia they walked carelessly down, still optimistically looking for anything that might give them a clue to where they were. As they walked, Annalise couldn’t help but roll her eyes at the perfect picket-fence houses – children’s toys scattered carelessly on the neatly trimmed lawns. It was familiar, but the more she concentrated on her surroundings in the burning daylight, the more disjointed her environment seemed.

Damon was clearly tiring fast, though, and it was obvious in the way he spoke, interrupting Lis’ thoughts. “How many more streets are we going to wander?”

Bonnie shot him an annoyed look. “How many times are you going to ask me questions I don’t know the answer to, huh?”

Annalise exchanged a tired glance with Bonnie before her eye caught a vintage car – classic red Ford Mustang. It was beautiful, but the more she thought about it, the more she realised that _all_ the cars they were passing were…old but in a new way.

“Guys? Does Mystic Falls have like a vintage car show I don’t know about?”

“No…” Bonnie answered her as she too frowned at the cars curiously.

Damon quirked his brow, walking to a nearby parked car and letting his fingers run along its squeaky-clean surface. “Now that you mention it, though, these cars are all twenty years old, or more, but they still look brand new.” He looked around before his gaze caught on a familiar house further up a street, which until then had hidden behind a large tree with a rope swing. Damon’s eyes widened in disbelief as he approached the beautiful suburban home. “And that’s Elena’s not-so-burnt-to-a-crisp house.”

Lis’ breath caught as she saw a toy bike and a doll left on the lawn, remembering the ashen ruin she had come across when she was haunted by Silas. Was this the…past? But then where the hell was everyone? Bonnie crouched, reaching the newspaper bundle thrown on to the grass. Her eyes squinted before she straightened abruptly in shock, beckoning the two of them over. “Guys. Look.”

The large bold font of the main news caught her eye, and it seemed it had caught Damon’s too. “Rare solar eclipse expected to be seen across twelve states?”

Solar eclipse? What were the chances of a rare celestial event happening today?

Bonnie shook her head though. “Not that. The date.”

Damon squinted at the top corner of the newspaper. “May 10th…1994? Are we? That’s impossible.”

The sky darkened as if on cue, and something _shifted._ Damon's confused exclamation seemed faded away as Annalise let her eyes fall shut as she tipped her head back, feeling the rush of the magic in nature at the two celestial objects beginning to already coincide and fill the air with this sense of headiness and gravity. The movement of two celestial bodies into each other’s path – becoming one for just a fleeting amount of time – created an influx of celestial power entering nature in an almost intoxicating fashion. 

Her mind felt clearer than it had in a long time, and she found herself wondering what exactly happened to send her back in time to experience this once in a lifetime phenomenon.

Her eyes snapped open as she stiffened, connecting the dots. The magic she felt as though was in stasis when she’d first woke, being in the past, the celestial event, the fact that she felt removed from Earth, _her_ Earth.

The feeling of drawing the bright little lights from a crumbling world into the safety of a pocket that wasn’t quite theirs at the insistence of a spirit because it was closer.

_Shit._

“Guys.” Her fearful voice cut through the awed silence that the still occurring eclipse had drawn from her two friends. They looked at her immediately, noticing the undercurrent of urgency in her voice. “We need to leave, find somewhere safe. _Now.”_ A familiar energy approached them at high speeds, allowing her to breathe a sigh of small relief.

Kol's rattled gaze sought hers almost immediately before they cleared, appearing the picture of cool the next moment. “I know where we are. This is a Prison World.”

“I just figured it out too.” Annalise confirmed grimly. “Were you around in 1994 May, at all? Got any clue as to what we might be up against?”

Kol shook his head with a tight smile. “Unfortunately, Nik kept me daggered this decade. Since 1919 in fact, if you want to get technical.”

Annalise exhaled weakly as she passed him a small smile. “That’s okay. I don’t sense anyone for miles around. We’re fine for now.”

“Good.” Kol nodded to himself, eyes conspicuously not meeting hers.

“Anyone bothered to fill us in?” Damon and Bonnie had moved closer at their panicked tones. Bonnie looked worried.

“What’s a Prison World?”

Annalise released a stressful sigh, reaching to tighten her ponytail as she turned to Bonnie. “Prison worlds are exactly that – Prisons, created courtesy of the Gemini Coven. It’s like an alternate little pocket dimension removed from the actual world stuck repeated the same day. Supernaturals or witches whose absence humanity as a whole would benefit from, those who are especially hard to kill, are trapped in here.”

“Oh, that’s great. Really.” Damon ran a hand through his hair in frustration. “So now not only do we need to worry about over friendly neighbourhood Original over here, we need to worry about _another_ psychopath locked away from humanity for its own good?! Why even bother saving us if we’re gonna die _anyway,_ huh, Lis?”

“Watch your tone, mate.” Kol scowled, squaring up to Damon threateningly. Damon didn’t waste a moment in squarely meeting Kol’s glare as he spoke. “You do realise that I hold the knowledge you need to get out of here.”

“You think you’re gonna leave us behind? Give your little crush here more reason not to like you?” Kol’s eyes flashed dangerously and his fists clenched but Annalise had had enough.

“Damon, Kol. Stop this _right now.”_ She glared between the both of them irately. “We’re gonna need to work together to get out of here, and we’re _not_ gonna be leaving anybody behind, understood?”

Damon raised his brows, smirking smugly at an irritated Kol.

Kol’s lips tightened in fury, before he stormed off down the road.

Lis sighed guiltily before turning to Bonnie and Damon while rubbing tiredly at the bridge of her nose. “The only way to get out of a Prison World needs two ingredients. One is an ascendent. Think of it as a mechanical key of sorts. That’s hard to find. Lucky for us though, the second ingredient is well within our reach.”

“What’s that?” Bonnie questioned with a frown.

“You.” Annalise gave her a rueful grin. “I get why your grams told me to take you here; it’s because only you could escape it back to the real world. You see, the Gemini Coven initially worked together with the Bennett blood line according to history. Because of that, the second ingredient is simply Bennett magic.”

Bonnie’s building grin dropped. “We’re back at square one then. My magic isn’t working.”

“Well, then,” Annalise squeezed the young witch’s hand in support, “It’s a good thing you’re stuck with two people who’ve excelled in magic theory, yeah? You’ll be throwing around your magic again in no time.” Bonnie’s lips tilted up hopefully as Annalise looked towards Damon more seriously. “I’m gonna go get Kol. You guys should head to your house and run the _hell_ away if you see anyone else that isn’t us. There’s a reason they’re trapped in here, okay?”

Damon nodded, uncharacteristically seriously. “We’ll be waiting at the Boarding House for you two then. There should still be vervain there. Be careful.”

“You too.” Lis dipped her head in return before shooting the pair a half-assed smile before promptly blinking from existence.

Her power - more volatile than before - disrupted her teleportation to Kol’s signature, sending her careening forwards to nearly fall right off the tiled roof she appeared on. A hand curled around her tightly, stopping her dangerous descent in its tracks. After regaining her footing once more, Lis passed Kol an awkward smile. He didn’t return it as he positioned himself on the roof of the Mystic Falls clock overlooking the entire picturesque town once more – feet hanging off the ledge as he leaned back against the new brick.

Annalise copied him carefully, only she curled her knees to her chest as she sat next to him.

It was quiet for a long moment before Annalise ventured. “I’m sorry.”

“Nothing to be sorry for, Lis.” Kol smiled thinly as he continued looking forwards. “I understand perfectly. The kiss shouldn’t have happened. We’ll go back to being just acquaintances through Nik and go our separate ways once we escape this hell. You can go back to being the annoying angel on Nik's shoulder. The world will be right once more.”

“No, no that isn’t- _Kol_ , look at me.” His mouth set stubbornly as he moved his sharp eyes to her – it reminded her of the hurt reflected in his eyes so long ago at the ball when he realised he couldn’t channel her. And it hurt knowing she was the reason for it. Swallowing heavily, Annalise scrambled to explain. He deserved that much, at least. “I didn’t mean I didn’t enjoy the kiss, or that I wish it didn’t happen – It- I _did_ enjoy it. A lot.” Her neck flushed with the burn of his gaze now drilling into the side of her face intensely as she shook her head, mortified. “I- I mean- y’know, well…I enjoyed it the normal amount.”

Kol’s smirk had returned smally as he raised an eyebrow at her, but he nodded, prompting her to continue. “But- but I guess I didn’t like the timing of it all. I was losing people and I didn’t want to lose you too – not again. Then there was the whole…y’know, prophecy. It was just a _lot_ at once. And then Silas-”

“Right, of course.” Kol shifted bitterly, looking away once more. “ _Of course_ , I was manipulating you, wasn’t I? What else can you expect from the most _evil_ Original of the lot?”

“No, Kol.” Annalise ran a hand through her hair, loosening her ponytail even further. “Yes. If I’m being honest, yes. I did question you and your intentions for a split second; I was in a dark place and everything was crashing down, and I-I was questioning _everything_. I was feeling used.” She shifted uncomfortably before turning to meet his dark gaze squarely. “I doubted you and the way you made me feel. You didn’t deserve that.” Kol’s eyes shifted into a shade softer as the heavy dip to his brow lessened. “I’m not saying I _don’t_ have feelings for you, I just- I wouldn’t have doubted you if I knew you better.” Kol’s brow dipped once more.

“So where does that leave us darling?”

“I need time, I guess. Only if you’re up to it though. You have no obligation at all to wait for me until I sort my shit out.” Annalise stated firmly, and there he was, looking amused by her again. “What?”

“Nothing, Lissa.” He smirked, the signature curl to his lips attracting her gaze almost immediately – she looked away but he only smirked wider. He’d clearly noticed. His hand appeared in front of her. “After all, we’ve got all the time in the world now, haven’t we?”

With a small smile of her own, she shook his hand to cement their deal even though her heart fluttered with the breeze as his larger hand curled gently around her own.

She was going to regret this…wasn’t she?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you can see, romance is going to play a much larger role than my first book, comparatively. As a result, I do want to address the fact that Kol may seem a little OOC - I'm trying to channel how he changed in canon when he was in love with Davina, but then again, I've warned you that I'm entirely self-indulgent :) hehe. 
> 
> Hope you Enjoyed!  
> Let me know how you liked this chapter!


	2. Building Bridges

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all! I'm blown away once again by the support for this fic, I have no words to thank you all other than with my weekly update, unsurprisingly a tad late!! hehe :) This is the last chapter before returning to altered canon.  
> Warning: Strong language, and also a few time skips present.  
> Hope you enjoy!

**Day 3**

Life was…peaceful to say the least.

Sure, it was only the beginning of probably more summer mornings than she could count – at least until Bonnie got her magic under control; but the idea of an endless summer filled with loud 90s music blasting on the radio sounded too good to be true. So, in a way, it did make sense that the big catch was being separated from the rest of humanity.

To be fair though, Damon’s horrendous dance moves did kinda make up for the whole ordeal.

Bopping her head along to the cheery beat, Annalise couldn’t help but smile fondly as she watched Damon dance, flipping pancakes with one hand while clutching a bottle of bourbon firmly in the other. Batter stained the counter, and dishes were piled precariously in the sink, but his efforts weren’t completely in vain as he flipped over another questionably successful pancake on the stove. The burnt lumps of evidence to his earliest attempts lay right at the bottom of the bin, discarded when he'd stubbornly refused Lis’ help.

Flipping the final pancake with a flair, he presented the finished plate of lumpy pancakes with a bow. “Here you go, Peach.”

“Wow look at that. Almost worth the two-hour wait.”

Rolling his eyes good-naturedly, Damon went back to pouring more batter on the flat pan as she helped herself to plenty of maple syrup. Before digging in, her fingers came up to adjust the phantom weight of her glasses out of habit, no longer settled on her nose. When they met nothing, Annalise let her face fall into her hand in irritation. 

There it was. _Yet_ another question added to her list of ever-growing mysteries. What's worse was that the fact that her eyesight had completely returned didn’t even breach the top ten things wrong with her. Even though not needing glasses anymore wasn't necessarily a bad thing, it felt as though it symbolised something important. Something that separated her from the Annalise she was before. It felt as though she'd lost some of her identity, or gained something else entirely.

Damon noticed her thoughts racing a mile a minute, smirk immediately wrinkling his eyes in amusement as he offered her the can of whipped cream in an effort to cheer her up. “So, got any theories as to why you no longer wear those dorky glasses? Got bit by a radioactive spider recently? Stick to any walls? Developed a spidey-sense?”

"Hilarious." Annalise rolled her eyes at Damon as he flipped another pancake high in the air. “Nope. I’ve no clue.” She shook her head once more, anticipating the next question to come out of his mouth. “And I don’t know why my magic’s all weird again, okay? For the last time, I’m _not_ juiced up on any dark magic.”

“Jeez,” Damon raised his brows in a sassy manner, smirk still teasingly playing on his face, “you don’t need to get so worked up about it.” As Lis huffed in amusement, going back to eating her pancakes, Damon went back to making the other plate of breakfast. Only this time, a contemplative silence fell in the kitchen despite the upbeat song playing in the background. Lis heard him sigh as she slowed to pick at her breakfast, frowning at the plate he’d started to decorate. There was clearly something on his mind, further evidenced by the fact he hesitated as he opened and shut his mouth a few times, gathering up the courage to speak. Lis pretended not to notice his internal battle, only looking up when he ventured on a more serious note. “Why today?”

“Huh?”

“Why is the Prison World stuck on today? Specifically?”

“I don’t know.” Annalise frowned lightly at Damon’s suddenly heavy undertone. “It’s just a repeat of the day the prisoner was trapped, I guess. No special occasion – other than the celestial event to power it." The fact he was clearly hiding something felt more obvious when his eyes didn’t meet hers. "Why'd you ask?”

“No reason.” All at once it was as though the heavy atmosphere hadn't existed at all, and Damon was grooving along to the music once more, carefree, as if he hadn’t sounded worried only moments prior. Lis frowned deeper at his suspicious dismissal, but Damon waved her off. “Go annoy someone else. Where’s your boy toy anyway?”

“Uh…I think he went to scout around, y’know?” Sufficiently distracted, Annalise shrugged in what she hoped was a casual manner, letting her eyes wander out to the picturesque garden past the kitchen window. Damon had hit the nail on the head as to what had been on her mind all morning.

The talk yesterday had patched things up – not perfectly, sure, but well enough. Her indecisiveness had been received loud and clear, and Annalise didn’t know how to feel about that too – she’d got what she wanted, hadn’t she?

Kol wasn’t outright avoiding her, but he wasn’t going out of his way to be around her either. Annalise hoped that didn’t mean…whatever they had, wasn’t ruined forever. “He’s in the vicinity. Bonnie too; she’s actually just-” The heavy front door opened and shut, accompanied by the familiar click of low heels down the hall towards them, “-here.”

Lis finished with a light grin as Bonnie stepped into the kitchen with an old book tucked in one arm, and the other holding a teddy bear.

The young witch broke out into a wide smile, surprised to see Damon cooking at a messy countertop, shimmying in time to the song on the radio. “I didn’t know you cooked.”

“I don’t.” Damon cleared his throat, looking the picture of maturity as he flipped a pancake onto another awaiting plate. He seemed keen to move on before she mentioned his dancing. “How’d you sleep? Me…not good. My 1994 mattress was very lumpy.” Gesturing to the the teddy bear still clutched in Bonnie’s hand, he raised an eyebrow. “Whatcha got there?”

“Oh,” Bonnie held it up, smiling adorably, “Say hi to Miss Cuddles. I lost her when I was nine, but I went into my house this morning and…here she was.” Annalise grinned back at her as she also held up the worn book in her other hand while gesturing to her. “I also found my Gram’s old grimoire – it taught me a lot…maybe this could help get my magic back?”

“Of course, Bon.” Annalise nodded in encouragement as the witch grinned happily, moving to join the seat next to her on the kitchen island.

Damon rolled his eyes as he poured more batter onto the pan. “ _If_ you’re still a witch that it – and if one of the two certified psychos out there don’t kill us first.”

Annalise squinted before flicking her wrist at him – the spatula in his hand in Damon’s grip seized before promptly smacking into his face of its own accord, a bit harsher than she meant to. Damon passed her a sour look as Bonnie snorted at his slightly reddening cheek. “Serves you right. Would a little support kill you?”

“Look,” he spread his hands seriously, “all I’m trying to say here is that we’re in some otherworldly time dimension – maybe it’s all of _you_ being negative that’s reacting to my natural self, negatively.” Lis shot him a faux concerned look as though he’d suffered a small seizure.

“Did the spatula give you brain damage?”

“No, he’s just ridiculous.” Bonnie rolled her eyes, flipping open the grimoire as she moved her attention away from an insulted looking Damon.

“Hey – I’m just being consistent.”

He delicately ignored Annalise mutter “Yeah, consistently _ridiculous,”_ under her breath as he arranged the pancake stack he’d cooked into a neat pile and loaded it with whipped cream before setting it in front of Bonnie.

“Here, eat your pancakes.” Reaching over to the other corner of the counter, he dropped the newspaper in front of the witch eyeing the mountain of whipped cream in borderline disgust. “You can do a crossword puzzle.”

“Yes, because we’ve not got anything better to do to pass the time,” Annalise whipped around on her seat as Kol spoke up, leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed as he shot Damon a flat look while he continued drily, “like…oh I dunno, training the magic back into the Bennett so we can get out of here?” Almost naturally, their gazes locked, and had it not been for the nearly unnoticeable nod in her direction, Lis would’ve thought that he was still angry at her, judging solely on the grim set of his lips and his impatient frown.

Damon rolled his eyes at Kol, taking a large sip of the bottle of bourbon that had made its way to his hand once more. “Yeah? Well, if you hadn’t disappeared for basically the entire morning, probably scheming to kill us in our beds for all we know, _maybe_ I’d be convinced.”

Lis found herself straightening immediately to defend her friend but Kol was already shaking his head, stalking towards Damon with a malicious smirk. “Oh, I wouldn’t need to _scheme_ to kill you; you wouldn’t be worth the effort, darling.”

Damon slammed his bottle on the counter, reaching for something in the cupboard threateningly but Lis was already off the chair between the two men in a flash – pushing her palms flat outwards, facing them.

Both men found themselves propelled into the kitchen counter and door respectively, slamming into the surfaces with pained grunts. Annalise winced guiltily as Bonnie passed her an impressed grin.

“Okay so I wasn’t supposed to push you guys that hard, my bad.” Annalise shrugged unapologetically at the flat glare she received from Damon as she sternly looked between the pair. “But like it or not, we're all stuck together, so you guys are gonna learn to get along even if it kills you.”

“Well, then. It’s a good thing we’re already dead,” Damon smirked sarcastically while still engaging in the solemn stare-off, unwilling to move their wary eyes off the other, “’cos if it was up to him? We’d be dead. Again. _Dead_ dead.” He turned his incredulous eyes her. “Hell, have you forgotten he tried to kill Bonnie, Peach?”

“Nothing personal, love.” Kol butted in, smirking insincerely towards Bonnie, who looked at him, utterly unconvinced.

Damon chuckled in disbelief, gesturing towards Kol’s leer as Lis facepalmed. “You _can’t_ be serious about him. He is the definition of someone who belongs in a Prison World. We don’t need him.”

That seemed to strike a nerve, wiping Kol’s smirk right off his face. His demeanour darkened as he strode forwards past Lis in anger, but she managed to stay between the two men as Kol tried to reach for him. “You have a problem with me, _mate?”_

“No, a solution, really.” Damon sneered widely, “there’s this _lovely_ bridge I’d like to take you to, view looks positively wonderful this time of year-”

“No one’s killing _anyone, okay?!”_ Annalise threw her hands up in frustration. “Dammit, Damon, trust me. He's my friend, and I refuse to leave without him; plus we need him, okay? End of discussion.” Damon stewed silently, eyes darting between the Lis narrowing her eyes at his continued silence, and Kol’s cold glare. _“Understood?”_ Lis pressed sternly.

“Fine.”

Damon finally shifted away from the cupboards, crossing his arms. As she watched him straighten, still suspicious of his buried anger, the room around them suddenly dimmed.

Everyone’s attention collectively drew up to the kitchen skylight as the sun grew progressively more concealed. The world around them was cast into shadow while only the faint outline of the sun remained in the sky as a result of the complete solar eclipse. Magic in the air swelled further and Annalise found herself inhaling deep as her eyes flashed silver at the sudden influx of the almost intoxicating celestial energy.

It was as though the world held her breath with her – mimicking that feeling of elation as the energy _rushed_ through nature for a lasting moment. Her skin buzzed with familiar power, until it tapered off as the sun gradually cast the world into light again. Blinking away the silver sting in her eyes as Annalise cleared her throat trying to collect herself, she suddenly grew aware of Kol’s stare sinking into her flushed cheeks.

It wasn’t him that broke the silence first, however.

“The eclipse affects you, doesn’t it? I didn’t see it yesterday.” Lis hadn’t expected the girl to notice, but Bonnie’s bright green eyes were already studying her closely. “Wait, is that why your magic’s acting up? Because you’re trapped in a day suspended with immense cosmic energy?”

“I- uh…” Lis swallowed heavily, rubbing at the back of her neck unsurely as she felt Kol move closer to her. “Yeah, maybe, Bon.”

But maybe not.

Her mind returned suddenly to that feeling of ripping herself away from Gaia’s magic, leaving it unnaturally to save her friends. Despite sensing her separation from the deity, Lis still felt something remain, like the tear hadn’t been clean. Shaking her head, she shrugged. “I don’t know exactly why my magic’s acting up, but I guess the best thing to do would be to get used to it. Right Kol?”

“Right, darling.” Kol intoned distractedly, and Lis rolled her eyes when she turned to find his narrowed gaze was back on Damon’s. The two men continued to lock eyes distrustfully, sizing each other up.

Annalise sighed in exasperation, motioning to Bonnie to join her. “Jeez, I give up. Find us when you’re done doing…whatever _this_ is. Come on, Bon.” 

Bonnie was quick to nod and follow after Lis as she left the house in a huff, slinging her tote with the grimoire over her shoulder quickly.

-

Night had fallen quickly in the Prison World, and when Lis and Bonnie walked through the front door of the house with a hushed giggle, they failed to notice Damon and Kol stewing silently at the ornate couches before the dim fireplace behind them.

Kol stood as the girls made to walk to the stairs, crossing his arms and raising a single eyebrow – his movement drew their attention, making them pause. They reminded her of those parents in movies that stayed up late in the dark, waiting for their delinquent kids to come home. The thought elicited an entertained grin to pull wider at her lips as she smiled innocently.

“Hey guys. Glad to see you haven’t killed each other yet.”

"Yeah, yeah." Damon waved a half empty glass of bourbon in the air as he stood to join Kol facing them. “Not that I care, but uh…why do you smell like a bonfire?” He narrowed his eyes, sniffing the air. “What? Did you bond over roasting marshmallows and talking about how insufferable we were, when we _know_ there’s a killer out there?”

“Not exactly.” Bonnie’s eyes twinkled as she smirked at Damon. “Close though. There were definitely marshmallows involved.”

Annalise’s smile withered embarrassedly at Kol’s continued stony silence towards her. Yeah, she owed him an explanation. “We uh- well _I_ committed…arson?” At his quizzically widened eyes, she rushed to elaborate. “What Damon said reminded me that the Wickery Bridge was made of white oak in this day and age, so I kinda…torched it?”

Kol’s anger visibly faltered as Damon strode over furiously, but Annalise was quick to square up at him in challenge. “And I didn’t forget the big sign this time, dick.”

“You set the _one_ thing that could kill a homicidal Original _on fire?!”_

“Well, I believe the term _exploded_ would be a tad more accurate.” Bonnie snorted in amusement, drawing a bright grin from Lis.

“I swear I only meant to produce a small flame-” she started defensively.

“You nearly blew _us_ up too-”

“Don’t be dramatic, we were only thrown back a _couple_ of metres at most-”

Bonnie retorted glibly as she snorted, “there was nearly a _fireball_ Lis-”

“The point is…” Lis spoke over Bonnie’s entertained giggle, feeling sincerity fill her as her eyes locked with Kol’s softened gaze as memories of his death; his screams and flames echoed her mind. “I’ve seen what it does, and I’m not letting it happen again.” 

Annalise found herself blushing and looking away when her sincere words widened Kol’s eyes imperceptibly.

Right - there she went, making things...awkward again. Losing her nerve, Annalise decided it was time for a strategic retreat before that weight to Kol’s softened expression made her do something she’d regret. Bidding everyone a flustered and hasty good night, Annalise retreated to her room for the evening, not keen to languish in her embarrassment.

Kol recovered too as Lis left, shooting Damon his signature smug smirk paired with a provocative clap on his shoulder as he passed the disappointed vampire, before he too walked to the bedrooms in the opposite direction with one last glance at the girl hurrying up the stairs.

As a result, neither Kol nor Lis saw how Damon’s disappointed expression morphed into a gleeful leer as Bonnie reluctantly exchanged a secretive nod with him.

Guilt sat heavily in the young witch’s chest as she withdrew into her own room that night.

**Week 3**

The days were beginning to blend into each other now.

Each morning was the same. Damon started it by letting the music of the kitchen radio blare loudly through the house; something she’d started to expect, and quite honestly, enjoy. Unable to help but hum along to the catchy tunes, Annalise got dressed for the day before making her way downstairs. It was easier to pretend everything was okay rather than address the fact that everyone’s patience had worn thin at the failures confronting them at every turn.

By now, Damon had the coffee running for her when she reached the kitchen, along with the ingredients to whatever Bonnie had decided breakfast would be the day before. The young witch's habitual newspaper was also at her placemat on the table. 

Annalise grinned from the doorway watching Damon pour over the batter haphazardly into a larger bowl with a low curse. Enjoying his struggle for a bit longer, Lis spoke up as she sauntered into the sun-lit kitchen. “Careful there. You’re looking awfully domestic, Damon.” She smirked, walking over to him as he rolled his eyes at her in response. “Losing your fear factor, buddy.”

“Well, considering the bad boy role in this little Breakfast Club is taken, I figured I was demoted to quirky best friend.”

“There is no quirky best friend - the whole premise was that all five of them had nothing in common.”

“Call me Basket Case then.” He bared his teeth in a sarcastic grin before continuing. “Every day Bonnie refuses to work with Johnny Bender – justifiably, might I add - is another day _I_ spend trapped in hell and not with the love of my life. Seeing as that wouldn’t exactly change anytime soon, I figured French toast was the way to go.” Lis’ eyebrows had raised as she’d leant forwards against the counter watching Damon rant, amused as he viciously dipped toast in the batter. “Isn’t there anything you can do to speed everything along?”

“I’ve done all I can.” Lis shrugged while reaching over to pour herself a cup of coffee. “Growing up I never really had a hard time connecting to my magic – it was always there, y’know? It’s not normal. Bonnie’s magic on the other hand, is. It’s more…fickle, judgy, even.” Annalise sat back with a huff. “So, sure, I’ve got magic theory down pat; give me a grimoire and a day and I’ll know everything there is to know about it, but that’s it. Kol…he taught me how to better control my magic; he’s practically had a thousand years of experience. There’s no one better to teach Bonnie, trust me.” She tilted her head with a squint. "Wait, rewind. You don't deserve being Basket Case. I want to be her."

"You can't, be her, obviously. You've got a thing for Bender." Lis narrowed her eyes at his smirk, giving him a slight glare before he continued on a more serious note. “It’s not you I don’t trust.” Damon sighed as he placed the bread on the saucepan with a low sizzle. “And well, it’s not me you have to convince anyway.” He trailed off, looking significantly towards the kitchen doorway. Lis understood when Bonnie sleepily walked through it after a few moments. 

The young witch passed them a bleary smile and a small “Good morning,” as Lis handed her a cup of coffee with a plate of fresh French toast before seating herself at the counter and filling out her little ritualistic crossword.

In the peaceful quiet that had descended the cinnamon-scented kitchen, Annalise frowned, deep in thought.

She thought back to the failed quote-unquote “lessons” she’d sat at with Kol and Bonnie. Acting as the buffer between their strong and stubborn personalities had been a chore for the last few weeks, and not a successful one at that. Often Bonnie flat-out refused to even close her eyes around Kol, or to let him even look at her Gram’s grimoire, and Kol wasn’t eager to be ordered around to begin with.

The repetition and repeated failure was starting to wear on her thin optimism now. Hell, she'd come to find that it was a _good_ sign if their sessions ended with a barbed insult from Kol and Bonnie storming off in an annoyed rush, instead of something worse. It also didn’t help when Kol would disappear for days on end, leaving Annalise worrying after his absence, only able to breathe easily once more when she felt him back in their vicinity. It was frustrating at times and it felt as though Lis was the only one trying to keep the peace, despite the fact that Bonnie did try her best for Lis, bless her.

It felt as though they were all stuck in a stalemate, and Damon’s antagonising commentary whenever Kol was around certainly didn’t help.

Something had to give.

Damon’s expression soured as the front door shut loudly and footsteps echoed down the hallway. “Oh great. Killer’s back.”

There it was. The straw on the camel’s back.

A rush of wind blew Lis’ loose curls into her face, and the next moment, Damon was struggling to catch his breath as he choked against the wall with Kol viciously tightening his grip on Damon’s neck.

“Damon, Damon, Damon.” Kol tutted, eyes narrowing at the vampire in resentful condescension. “I understand Lissa doesn’t want me to hurt you, I do. But you see, you really do seem to have it out for yourself. Personally, I think you've yet to realisejusthow _useless_ you are here, and how little you contribute with your wit.”

“ _Kol,_ what the hell-”

“So,” The Original chuckled humourlessly as he tightened his grip on Damon’s neck, “here’s a little reminder that I do not appreciate your running commentary, _mate.”_

Annalise tried to intervene, but Bonnie was already shoving at Kol’s unmoving form, trying her best to push him away from Damon to no avail. “Let. Him. _Go.”_ Damon tapped on Kol’s motionless hand, face turning beet red prompting Lis into action.

“That’s enough.” Annalise yanked heavily on Kol’s arm, turning him to face her. “I get it, we’re stuck together, and you hate him. Fine.” Lis bit out firmly. “But I need you to get the hell over yourself and bring your goddamned cheer spirit to the table here, so you can go back to hating him once we're back on Earth, okay?”

Kol’s jaw clenched at her berating tone, eyes narrowing in annoyance at her too before nodding once and releasing a gasping Damon to the floor. Bonnie was immediately at her friend’s side in worry. Annalise relaxed minutely, still watching Kol coolly as she spoke to Bonnie helping Damon stand. “Take him to the living room, please Bon. Pour him a drink,” Damon coughed hoarsely while rubbing at his bruised neck making Lis grimace, “sounds like needs it.”

As Bonnie nodded silently and left the kitchen with Damon leaning his weight heavily on Bonnie’s shoulder, Annalise put her hands on her hips, watching Kol pace as she raised her eyebrows, waiting for an explanation. Kol ran his hands through his hair in frustration as he paced.

Now she was looking at him more closely, Lis realised his under eyes had darkened and he held a tensed weight to his shoulders he didn't before. Her stiffened posture sagged as she looked at him in worry. “Kol? What’s going on?”

“What’s going on?” He laughed wryly. “What’s going on is that it’s been weeks, Lissa. _Weeks._ I’ve been trying to play nice with your self-entitled friends for weeks now." He gestured wildly. "Damon’s always eying me like I’m one breath away from murdering you all in my sleep, and the Bennett can’t even look me in the eye when I’m doing my best to teach her.” Kol stalked towards her, breathing heavily as Lis watched on with a guilt-ridden gaze. “I am no stranger to feeling like I don’t belong, darling. But I have no fondness for _begging_ for recognition from people who’ve already decided me irredeemable. I’m done playing nice.”

How long had this been eating away at him?

“Kol…” Lis reached for his heaving shoulder gently, squeezing in a reassuring manner. “I didn’t realise, and _fuck,_ I've been pushing you to help Bonnie like an arsehole, I’m so sorry.” As she let her hand drop in shame, she didn’t see his eyes distractedly catch on a trail of smoke rising from the newspaper on the counter. “I never needed you to be nice, Kol – I-thank you, thank you for trying for so long, but if you need a break, I understand. I-I’ll figure Bonnie out and then I’ll let you know, and we can all leave together-” She trailed off in confusion as she watched Kol move past her towards the other corner of the kitchen island.

“That might not be necessary, Lissa.” He reached where Bonnie had sat that moments prior, French toast half eaten drying on her abandoned plate. When Kol lifted the newspaper however, Annalise understood. Kol grinned mischievously. “I have an idea.”

“Uh oh.”

-

A few minutes later, Kol and Lis joined Damon and Bonnie speaking lowly in the next room, pretending not to notice the duo immediately stiffening warily as they approached. Damon stood protectively in front of Bonnie, straightening even as he held the cool glass of bourbon to his neck to decrease the swelling as he stared Kol down. 

“Gotta say, choking me wasn’t a smart move on your part, Casanova. Doesn’t really help your case when you prove I’m right to call you a violent killer, y’know?”

Annalise didn’t miss how Kol’s fist tightened at his side, and she was quick to cover his hand with her own, giving it a quick squeeze as she pointed at Damon with her other hand sternly. “That’s it. You, with me. We’re leaving.”

“What?” Damon looked at her like she’d lost her plot.

Lis rolled her eyes, repeating herself. “You and me, Damon. We’re leaving. You two need to calm yourselves down, and if that means I've got to treat you like kids, _fine._ I’m de-escalating the situation by separating the two of you. You said you were running low on whisky, right? Well? C’mon. Let’s go shopping.”

Damon scowled. “Hell no, I’m not leaving my ticket out of here with Clyde.”

Bonnie looked towards Lis too, her wide eyes filled with fear nearly made Lis falter in her decision as she questioned her. “You want me to stay with Kol?”

Lis swallowed heavily, smiling as convincingly as she could. “Yeah, Bon. Trust me. You’re in good hands. Plus, you could get some training in while you wait, right?”

“…Right.” Bonnie nodded hesitantly as Kol grinned wickedly wide at her. Clapping her hands together loud in finality, Lis moved forwards to clasp her hand around Damon’s uncooperative arm, passing one last reassuring smile at Bonnie standing there unsurely, arms crossed and reluctant. The next second, Damon and Lis stumbled into existence deeper well-groomed gardens of the Boarding House.

Damon was glaring at her, narrowing his eyes at her shifty behaviour in confusion. “This isn’t the store, Peach. What aren’t you telling me?” Annalise abruptly turned, avoiding his incredulous look as she walked away from him wordlessly. Damon was quick to follow, questioning her with disbelief colouring his tone. “You left Bonnie with her attempted murderer to take me for a stroll in the gardens, Lissie, what the _hell?!”_

“Calm your tits, idiot.” Annalise spun on her foot, angrily levelling him with a glare of her own. “Do you really think I’d put her in actual danger?”

“Well, you’re making it extremely hard to trust your judgement here – you _are_ the one denying her feelings for a _monster.”_

“He’s _not.”_ Lis denied vehemently, focusing on the part of his insult she could actually contest. “Sure, he’s done shit in the past that’s horrifying, but seeing as Elena’s also willing to look past your own fatal fucking flaws I’m sure you’re not gonna lecture me on who’s good and who’s not. Plus, hell, _Elena_ probably has a kill count near Kol’s own numbers considering she offed an entire _sire line;_ practically a quarter of _all_ vampires in the _world_.”

Damon threw his hands in the air in frustration, turning on his heel – “She was defending herself-”

“It was premeditated you little _shit._ I was there! _”_ Lis wasn’t having it, and it was evidenced by the ivy beginning to climb obviously up the trees around them, but she took a deep breath as she lowered her voice, willing herself to calm. “Now I get there’s bad blood here – I do. But he’s done nothing but cooperate since this whole thing started, which is a whole lot more than you’ve done. I was stupid to have not seen it before, and now I feel like absolute shit. He wants to get out of here _just_ as much as any of us, so even if you don’t trust him, trust that. Please." 

Damon breathed heavily, retreating as he nodded in a calmer manner as his eyes flicked from tree to tree, and the sudden ivy that had climbed up their trunk in a matter of seconds. Lis still didn’t let her guard down however, but hoped she’d mistaken that darkness still hidden in his collected cool gaze. Sighing, she rubbed at her eyes. There was no reason to _not_ let him know of her ulterior motives. “The newspaper was burnt, Damon.”

“What?” Damon seemed thrown off by her sudden change of topic.

“Bonnie’s paper. You know, the one with the crossword she struggles with every morning. It was burnt.” Lis started to walk down the beautifully pruned garden as she continued. "I have power - more than enough, really – I just need to be able to control it. That's why Kol started me off with meditation, to truly learn what my magic feels like. With Bonnie, it’s like a placebo effect, y’know? She thinks she doesn’t have magic, so she doesn’t. She needs to get out of her head, forget her doubts. Distract herself. Convince herself she truly deserves to be a witch again.” Lis glanced in the vague direction of the house before starting towards it. “It should’ve been long enough now; we can head back.”

Damon still looked lost. “You’ve gotta give me more to work with here Peach.”

“Emotion is tied heavily to magic," Lis paused, " _especially_ the magic that Bonnie has. Heightened emotion is enough to break through mental barriers. You know this, you’ve seen it happen before.”

“Like when we got Elena to flip her switch back.” Damon offered, nodding slightly in comprehension.

“Yeah.” Lis narrowed her eyes towards the house, feeling a large spike of magic and grinning to herself. “We couldn’t make Bonnie incredibly sad, or happy – but we can make her angry. Kol’s great at that.”

“You can say that again.”

Lis delicately moved on, choosing not to address his comment. “Bonnie was angry this morning when Kol attacked you, enough to reconnect with her fire and singe the paper. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if it'd never left in the first place and she didn’t realise her magic had been with her all along.”

Lis couldn’t help the grin building on her lips as they rounded the corner to the East Wall of the Boarding House.

The gardens, still ever so picturesque, contrasted sharply the large ashen scorch mark climbing up the brick wall of dead ivy.

Kol stood, smugly leaning against the wall, watching Bonnie stare up at it in wonder, still panting heavily from exertion. His eyes snapped to Lis as she rounded the corner; victorious grin widening at Lis’ delighted expression.

Damon looked upwards at his damaged house, then back at Bonnie before an understanding smirk lifted a cheek.

“So, you let the homicidal Original here recreate a situation where little BonBon genuinely feared for her life?” He passed her a subtly impressed raise of his eyebrows. “Gotta say Peach, I’m loving this mean streak you’re on.”

Annalise rolled her eyes good-naturedly, but her grin dropped as Bonnie turned to her accusingly. “Wait, you left me alone with Kol _knowing_ he’d try to kill me?”

“I hope you know I wasn’t _actually_ trying Bennett,” Kol kicked off the wall, drawing Bonnie’s ire from Lis’ guilty floundering – “I assure you, if I had, you would most definitely be dead.”

Lis let her eyes travel up to the heavens, dropping her head back in defeat as Bonnie turned back to look at her in disbelief.

“Seriously?!”

Annalise approached her placatingly. “You weren’t in any danger, I promise B. We saw Kol’s attack this morning jumpstarted your magic, and we just thought we could…y’know, give you that last push. And you did it, Bon, you have your magic back.”

Bonnie’s anger faltered, processing her words as she stared at her for a long moment, then at her hands, to the ashen wall then her hands again. “I have my magic back.” As she echoed Lis slowly, a slow grin started forming on her face, green eyes twinkling as they looked up at Annalise. “I. Have. My. _Magic. Back!”_

Bonnie rushed to Lis with a loud squeal, pulling her into a tight hug as Annalise let out a surprised chuckle in return at the girl’s exuberant energy. She grinned, hugging her back tightly before holding Bonnie back at arms-length as she smiled softly.

“You do realise I deserve none of that credit, right?” Lis’ eyes moved pointedly over Bonnie’s shoulder to Kol approaching them with his hands deep in his pockets; she passed him a proud grin. “This was all Kol.”

Bonnie’s smile lessened but didn’t waver as she turned to the vampire now beside her, grinning sincerely. “Thank you. How did you know that would work?” Kol shrugged carelessly, though Lis could see the sparkle in his eye brighten at the praise he’d received.

“Like Lissa said – magic is tied to emotion, and anger is the most obvious fuel for the fire.” He hesitated before continuing, “and well, when I first came into my own powers as a child, my mother taught me the basics, sure – but Finn was her true protégé. My mother’s best friend, Ayana Bennett mentored me in my mother’s absence. As a result, I’d say I’m more than familiar with Bennett magic.”

Oh.

Annalise hadn’t known, but for him to share that with Bonnie – it showed that he meant it when said he was trying to get along. Warmth blossomed in Lis’ chest, and a soft smile pulled at her lips as she watched Bonnie’s eyes widen in surprise. “Ayana Bennett? You knew her?”

“Yes,” Kol offered, still hesitantly before trying to dissolve the serious turn to the conversation with a sharp teasing tilt to his lips. “Poetic, isn’t it? Ayana takes me under her wing, and here I am a thousand years later, teaching her malfunctioning descendent.”

“Touching. Really. This whole circle of life things gave me chills. All we need to do now is join hands and sing Kumbaya.” Damon huffed sarcastically behind her, rolling his eyes as he walked away. “Don’t mind me, I’m just going to go grab that whisky I was falsely promised and drown my disgust.” 

Bonnie passed one last awkward smile at Kol and a squeeze to Lis’ hand before hurrying after Damon – Annalise cocked a brow at Kol as he lingered opposite her, grinning wide.

“Look at you, making friends.”

“The less resistive to my methods she is, the faster we’ll get out of here.” Kol rolled his eyes at how Lis’ proud expression didn’t falter, though his smile also remained set on his face as they slowly started heading in the direction of the front door together. “This was strategic, darling.”

“Sure it was.” The smile that crinkled her eyes proudly told him she didn’t believe his nonchalant reply for a single second, making him grin right back. His hand brushed against hers as they walked – once, then twice, each time making her heart feel as though it skipped a beat – before he held her hand fully to pull her to a stop.

His sincere brown eyes melted Lis to a near puddle as he stepped even closer. “You burned bridges for me, darling. It’s the least I could do to build new ones.” Annalise inhaled sharply, unable to control her eyes tracing the planes of his face when he was mere inches away from her, warm breath brushing against her cheek as he spoke. “Do you know me better yet, Lissa?”

Who was she kidding? Annalise knew, even if she didn’t know everything about Kol, that her heart had made its decision a long time ago – it was just waiting for her mind to catch up, but she wasn’t there yet. She couldn’t just…toss her fears away – couldn’t just tell them to shut up _because what if they might be right?_

Letting Kol in would just be one more person she’d let down someday; because she was _useless,_ and sooner or later everyone realised that before they’d leave. Hell, if she was being honest, she was just waiting for the other shoe to drop with Nik, and Bekah.

Her heart pounded in her chest she swallowed heavily, holding back the itch in her hands to give into that base desire to clutch him tight, to close the miniscule gap between their lips.

She _couldn’t._

As the sun shone through the leaves of the tree whispering above their heads, Annalise couldn’t be anything less than perfect and able to help the people she cared about – allowing herself to fall deeper into whatever emotion was clawing at her throat in what felt like a mix of nervousness and anticipation would be a mistake. She would mess up somewhere – and ruin whatever it was between them they already had.

At her total stillness in the heavy silence that fell over the pair, Kol released a deep breath as he stepped back.

Even as he looked away, Lis could see clearly the grim disappointed set of his tightly pressed lips, how his hands curled deeper into his pockets. Giving her a singular dejected nod before walking back towards the door. The flash of frustration in his gaze had sunk heavily on to Lis’ shoulders as he walked away, and she rushed to wipe at the moisture collected in her eyes before clearing her throat and straightening once more.

There she went. Ruining things.

At least now Bonnie’s magic was back, she could return to Earth soon enough and spend her life hiding away from everyone and everything. All she had to do was stay strong for a few more days. 

**Week 6**

Another three weekspassed. She must be jinxed.

In their sixth week of their confinement, a lot had changed. If you ignored the fact that Kol and Lis didn’t spend more than five minutes in the same room together, tensions had unpredictably…lessened in the house as time had flown by.

Sure, there was the occasional distrustful glare here and an offhanded insult there, but overall, things had been cruisy. Surprisingly so.

Annalise could go as far as to say Bonnie liked Kol; respected him even, for his vast knowledge concerning all things magical. He was the first mentor – Lis and Silas didn’t really count – that she ever had. Even Bonnie’s grams hadn’t been around for anywhere close to long enough to teach Bonnie everything, but Kol and Bonnie was powering through her impressive grimoire with remarkable fervour.

Damon still wasn’t anywhere near close to trusting Kol on the other hand – he had even said so resolutely to Lis one day in the kitchen as they watched Bonnie exclaim in victory outside, deep in the shrubbery as she’d finally made a flower bloom. But if you asked Annalise, Damon had indeed softened towards the Original in a reluctant manner – she would never go as far as calling them friends - _lord_ no, but the insults they traded regularly had become more entertaining than offensive.

And Kol.

_Kol._

He was insufferable. He had given her space just like she’d wanted, but he’d done so in the worst way possible. He’d done it so completely.

He was just…civil.

His gaze always had an intense weight to it in the small moments where his eye caught hers, and more often than not she saw frustration simmering at their surface. Guilt threatened to eat her alive, much like the piercing at her chest that had replaced the gentle warmth it once held. But this was what was best for everyone. This pushed Kol away, so he was _just_ her friend; this was the road of least pain.

But then why did it hurt so much?

Why didn’t her heart stop fluttering every time he brushed past her upon entering a room? Why did lingering touches felt like fire on her ashen fingertips when he passed her coffee in the morning?

It was getting harder and harder to come up with excuses to spend less time with him because Lis knew she was in deep already. Too deep. Bonnie had realised what she was doing too; and every time Lis rushed out of a room or skirted skittishly around Kol, the young witch had looked disappointed…it was a weight that Annalise couldn’t bear meet, as it reminded her of the conversation the girls had shared on their first night in the Prison World together.

It was worse now that her and Kol had become hesitant friends too; reservations that Bonnie had concerning Lis liking Kol were now lessened considerably.

It was Damon, surprisingly enough, that usually spent most of the day with Lis – they’d make breakfast in the mornings, and go on grocery runs in the afternoon, though game nights (relatively new) were accompanied by the entire gang. He’d reassured her decision not to involve herself with Kol had been the best choice to make – maybe he thought she’d now be more open to the idea of leaving Kol behind – she wasn’t blind to his distrust towards the Original, even thought it was much more minimal than it had been when he’d first arrived in this world.

So…she needed a distraction.

She devoted herself to the most obvious one. Over the last few weeks, Annalise had devoted herself to locating the Ascendant while Bonnie and Kol worked on the Bennett magic portion of the key to getting out of here. She’d figured now that Bonnie was well on her way to becoming the powerhouse she once was, under Kol’s tutelage, it was high time to locate the first part of the spell to transport them home; a task easier said than done.

They’d each appeared in this world exactly where they had left the last; Lis where she’d died, Bonnie and Damon where they’d failed to leave the Other Side near the Graveyard, and Kol a short distance from them on his way to escape the crumbling world. It made sense to assume that this world’s prisoner arrived in this Prison World exactly where he had been banished from in the real world.

The Ascendent would be with them, most likely, and that meant in order to find it, they’d have to find the prisoner. They’d have to grab their attention. Only, that wasn’t savoury for obvious reasons.

She needed answers…but who better to get them from than the very people who had created this world?

Naturally, she decided to broach the subject at game night.

Bonnie rolled; the dice clacked together as they fell on the bright game of Monopoly and she moved her piece to the blue square on her corner of the board. “Huh. Trump Tower. This didn’t age well.”

Damon rolled his eyes sourly. “Are you going to buy it or not?”

“It’s the best property on this old New York version, of course I am.” Bonnie raised a brow in challenge as she held the money over to Damon – he took it sorely, passing over the navy-blue card.

Annalise took a large sip of her wine, raising an eyebrow at Damon as he subtly slipped himself a five-hundred dollar note from Bonnie’s payment for the second time that night. “Whose idea was it to make you Banker again?”

Damon rolled his eyes at her as Kol passed him a sly smile. “Oh, pity the man Lissa, if he feels cheating is the only way to win against anyone here, I’d take it as a compliment.”

“You were all wrong.” Damon rolled the dice, then dropped his head in disappointment as he realised he landed on Kol’s train station. “This _is_ hell, isn’t it? My hell?”

Kol grinned broadly with an entertained chuckle as Damon resentfully threw a handful of notes in his direction, leaving them to flutter dismally to the floor. Annalise shared his grin for a moment, forgetting their earlier strained friendship just for a mere second because of the slight buzz from the wine – before his smile tapered off slightly, replaced again by that heavy look.

Both looked away quickly, Kol clearing his throat while Annalise sighed to herself before venturing in the lingering awkwardness. “I’ve been thinking. Bonnie’s good now but we still don’t have the Ascendent – we literally have no clue as to where it could be, and this blind search thing isn’t working out.”

“Got any better ideas, Peach?”

“Yeah, actually.” Annalise shrugged, rubbing her shoulder unsurely. “I want to go to Portland.”

Lis couldn’t help but glimpse Kol’s brow furrow as she looked towards Bonnie as she spoke. “Why?”

“Because that's where the Gemini Coven lived, and seeing as they did make this world, I’m going to wager a guess and say that the Ascendent’s up there, or that at least they have notes which tell me how to make one.”

“Great,” Damon smirked at her in agreement after a moment's thought, clearly eager to get back home, “road trip. We could hit all the states, eat some pies, hit up blood banks on the way – y’know, the usual.”

Lis grinned at his easy agreement, then looked hesitantly toward Kol as he tilted his head, lips pressed grimly. “It’s miraculous we’ve managed to escape our cellmate’s notice this far – are we sure we want to contest those odds?”

“Well,” Bonnie hedged tentatively, “It’s practically been a month and a half without seeing else – are we sure the prisoner is even still here? What if they’ve already escaped, or was never here to begin with?”

“Making this our very own truly _personal_ hell. Lovely.” Damon smirked hollowly. “Way to bring the mood down BonBon.” He shook his head, nodding at Lissie. “But might as well chance Portland then. We’ve got literally nothing to lose.”

“Except our lives.” Kol defended, climbing to his feet. “Chances are, they _are_ out there. Drawing attention to ourselves isn’t smart.”

Damon glared at him with thinly veiled annoyance. “Well, I figure your not-girlfriend over here packs enough punch to decimate a forest so we should be pretty safe with her.”

Kol shook his head with anger building in his eyes. “You’d be putting her in danger – we don’t know what they are capable of.”

Annalise frowned slightly, feeling putout at his insistence to not trust her own judgement of her abilities. Damon apparently caught on to the same thing. “Careful, Casanova. All I’m hearing is that you don’t think Lissie’s capable of taking down one witch.” Kol looked about ready to punch Damon, justifiably so because he was only making everything worse. Bonnie, ever the mediator, stood too.

“Look,” She backed up, “she’s got me, and you and Damon. Four against one are good odds to begin with, and that’s not even counting the fact that you’re an Original, and Lissie’s magic is practically on steroids right now.”

Kol’s fists clenched, and while Annalise was annoyed at him for doubting her frankly, good idea, she could tell he felt as though he was being ganged up on as his posture turned defensive. This wasn’t the right time to push for a big decision.

“It was just a suggestion, guys. No big deal. How about we sleep on it and figure it out tomorrow when Monopoly’s out of our system?” Bonnie nodded eagerly, passing her a relieved smile as Lis shuffled to her feet, adjusting her soft cardigan once more to cover her shoulders bare in a comfortable tank top.

Grabbing her empty glass before nodding once, Lis left the room.

Damon exhaled, stretching exaggeratedly as he declared – “Well, I agree, I think this is a good place as any to end this game because I was _definitely_ winning…” His sarcastic tone got more and more distant as Annalise made her way down the hall to the kitchen. Once she reached it, she placed the glass on the countertop next to the empty wine bottle, leaning against it heavily as she rubbed at her teary eyes in frustration.

“This needs to stop.” Annalise turned quickly, wiping away trace moisture from her eyes quickly as she faced Bonnie regarding her seriously from the kitchen doorway behind her.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about-”

“That’s bullshit and you know it.” Bonnie crossed her arms sternly, “you’re just hurting yourself here. Stop being a coward.”

Lis’ eyes widened at her blunt insult. “Bon, what-”

“Didn’t all that in there show you how much he cares about you? How much you care about him?” She shook her head. “All you’re doing is making your worst fears come true. Don’t tell me you don’t realise your eyes are on each other the second you walk into a room.” Bonnie walked closer to her, eyes wide and earnest. “I’m not saying it’s going to be easy, but when’s life ever been easy for people like us?” 

Annalise blinked rapidly. “I’m just not ready, Bon.”

Bonnie placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, giving it a sympathetic squeeze.

“You don’t know that for sure. Not until you really try.”

-

Annalise tried to focus on the calming sound of crickets chirping in the otherwise quiet night instead of the sensation of her stomach-turning anxiety building in her chest. Bonnie’s words from earlier still rang heavily in her mind. Even as she tried to calm, letting the stagnant magic of this world wash over her, echoes of her friend’s firm tone remained. When had Annalise stopped looking people in the eye? Showed her strength against those who stood against her head on who dared stand in the way of her beliefs?

What happens when the only thing that stands in the way of her happiness was herself?

Bonnie was right – Annalise was in her own damn way and she couldn’t help but think her fears were logical. _All_ of this _–_ caring, feelings and _Kol,_ it wouldn’t end well.

The chime of the large hallway clock broke her out of her thoughts, and automatically, Lis looked out at the tree standing closest to her window out of habit. Every night, when the clock struck eleven at night, an owl – Bertie, as she’d fondly named it - would hoot right by the window to the second-floor study without fail. Which is why her brow furrowed when tonight; the dark owl wasn’t there.

Now, she knew this wasn’t an infinite time loop – the resources in this world were finite and easily influenced. The Mystic Grill was still unfortunately bereft of alcohol as a reminder of her first night here due to the lack of control on her magic, the supermarket they visited often wasn’t restocked every night, and Bonnie had to break into a BednBath shop to grab new candles for her spells since she powered through hers too fast.

So…it made sense that something they might’ve done today influenced the chain of events that lead the owl to the study window on this hour…right?

Her thoughts wandered anxiously once more as the trees outside rustled in the wind.

The repetition of this world had grown on her in an almost calming manner as time had passed, or not passed, more accurately. Maybe it was because she was spending her days considerably less stressed, so she’d been able to take a reprieve from one bad thing happening after the next. Because it had allowed her what felt like a moment’s rest to process, well, everything.

Now instead of fighting immortal witches hellbent on ending the world what felt like a lifetime ago, all Lis had to do was admit to herself she was wrong. That Bonnie was right, and Lis deserved a chance to explore…whatever it was that existed between her and Kol. She had become a deity for a short amount of time, for crying out loud – but then why did her heartbeat hard against her chest as she heard familiar footsteps coming down the hall?

Dread built in her chest as the footsteps drew closer – suddenly the idea of talking to Kol seemed a whole lot more confronting than she initially thought. She’d take a fight to the death over this any day. _Screw looking this in the eye-_

Annalise was about to flash away from the room just as the door opened, silhouette falling upon her awkwardly frozen figure looking ready to sprint.

Kol’s dark eyes found her immediately in the dark. Even with the light of the hallway casting his face into shadow, Lis could read the dip in his heavy brow as he questioned her awkwardly. “Lissa, I-” Like her, it seemed he was at a loss as to what to say. Hesitating, he took a less direct approach as he walked further into the unlit room. “You’re standing in the dark; I take it Bertie visited tonight?”

“I, uh…no,” Lis shot him a half smile after taking a moment to collect herself, looking out the window once more as he joined her, “he wasn’t here today, unfortunately.”

“How odd.” He shifted on his feet, turning to her. “It’s been here every night, hasn’t it? Heard you even started to leave the lights off in here to not spook it away too soon.”

Lis let out a soft chuckle, finding it harder to find her words – what was she supposed to do with the information that he cared enough about her to know she’d befriended an owl? It wasn’t fair how endearing he was. 

Annalise started turning to him fully, just as he turned to her. “Kol,”

“Lissa-”

They exchanged an awkward chuckle when they both spoke at once before Lis gestured him to continue speaking. “It wasn’t my intention to cast doubt upon your idea earlier – going to Portland would be a good idea.”

“I thought you said it’d be dangerous.” She tilted her head.

Kol smirked softly at her as he leaned against the windowpane. “All the more reason for me to join you on your travels.”

His smile reminded her of the moment they had a fortnight ago – the heavier emotion hidden in his dark nearly black eyes in the dim moonlight caught her own eye. When had he gotten closer?

Annalise found herself unable to breathe, and she faltered, facing away from him and out the window. Even as she hated herself a bit more for it, she scowled at nothing in particular in the dark horizon as she spoke softly.

“You don’t deserve this you know?” Her eyes found his once more, and she bolstered her resolve to meet them sincerely as she continued. “You deserve more than someone who doubts everything about relationships. You deserve someone who knows how they feel about you, who knows what they want.”

Annalise was surprised at herself as she held his gaze, somehow withstanding sheer weight of his dark scrutiny as he moved closer. Clutching her cardigan tighter around her shoulders, she noticed the silence descended in the room was deafening, rivalled only by the rush of blood in her ears as she felt her heart beat faster.

“ _I_ don’t deserve you? Here I thought you were doubting me.” He was close, so close that she could feel the heat from his chest, smell him, feel warm air accompany his whisper as he leaned closer. “Your concerns are all easily rectified, darling.”

“Rectified? Kol, what are you-” Annalise went to step back, shaking her head, but this time Kol caught one hand, using it to pull her closer to him gently. Losing her balance, she used her other hand to brace against his firm chest, her first still curled in his gentle grip. “I’ll make this easy for you. You don’t know how you feel, what you want? I’ll help you, because the way we’ve been avoiding this has been frankly maddening, Lissa.”

Her hand gripped his shirt under it subconsciously as one of his hands brushed up her arm, leaving goosebumps in its wake as her loose cardigan had fallen off one shoulder. His other arm moved to tighten still around her waist. “How does this make you feel?” Kol’s words whispered into the shell of her ear had her eyes fluttering shut, his hand that had travelled to her neck moved under her jaw, tilting it up towards him. Annalise was feeling warm all over, anticipation thrummed beneath her skin as every breath she inhaled smelled of aftershave and just…him. Her eyes flew open as the pad of his thumb brushed lightly against her bottom lip. “How do _I_ make you feel?”

His nose nudged hers as he leaned stiflingly closer. In an effort to escape his dark, infuriatingly seductive gaze, her gaze locked on to his lips, which lifted into a delicious smirk at her attention. Oh no. This was worse. “Now I have your attention, darling. What do you…want?”

That feeling was back in her chest – that feeling of heavy warmth and anxious buoyancy. It was overpowering and her mind had found a single focus. His lips were _right there,_ but her stupid mouth couldn’t stop _running-_

“Wait, are you trying to seduce me? Am I being seduced?” The heat in Kol’s eyes turned confused for a split second as he backed off the smallest amount, but Lis felt the decrease of his warmth keenly and she found herself tugging him back almost immediately-

“I didn’t tell you to stop.” Abandoning her hopes of keeping composure, she completed the miniscule gap between them.

As soon as his lips met hers, she was filled with relief as she felt him smile. Though the sense of desperation from their first kiss no longer surrounded them, the kiss felt just as passionate, if not more. Pent up pressure in her chest felt ready to burst into fireworks as her hands travelled to his neck when she pressed impossibly closer, the kiss increasing in intensity as he started pushing back just as hard. Hands gripped her tighter, curling around her neck, tilting her head as they moved in sync. Annalise no longer felt burdened as she lost herself in the repeated press of his lips against hers, and the way they moulded together perfectly while moving in instinctive unison _._

Annalise hadn’t realised that he was pushing them backwards until her back met the table behind her. Shifting her balance as he placed her upon it effortlessly without breaking the kiss, he elicited a breathless giggle from her as he situated himself between her legs.

Instead of letting her catch her breath, Kol continued moving his lips to her cheek, then to the underside of her jaw. Lis found herself gripping him closer, breath stuttering as his mouth explored her further. Kol’s name came as a weak whisper against his ear when he pressed harder under her jaw, letting his teeth scrape lightly against her neck. Annalise’s fingers gripped the hair at the nape of his neck out of reflex, drawing a groan from him, making him tighten his grip on her before he returned to her lips, kissing her harder.

“Oi, keep it in your pants, please. Some of us have super-hearing down here!”

Annalise and Kol paused, drawing back slightly before she dissolved into an embarrassed chuckle. A small scowl twisted at Kol’s lips even as his eyes glinted mischievously. “Want to give him something to really complain about?”

Fire erupted in Annalise’s cheeks as she spluttered, pushing a salaciously smirking Kol back. “Relax, darling, I was only joking.” He held up his hands, moving back towards her subconsciously, eyes flitting between her grinning eyes and her swollen lips. “Mostly.”

Chuckling under her breath, Annalise leaned in, pressing a small kiss against his lips, hand reaching to cup his jaw, then kissing him again. This was addictive, she noted at the back of her mind, but she could care less. Annalise couldn’t stop the smile building on her face as Kol drew closer, leaning his forehead against hers as he gently pushed her hair behind her ear.

“Do you still have doubts, Lissa?”

“A few.” Her small smile curled at her lips cheekily as his brow furrowed. “I’m sure you’d be more than happy to help me out though.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...that happened.  
> I figured I made everyone wait long enough hehe. Bonnie's the biggest Kolissa fan though, and I never intended her to be lol, but I wouldn't have it any other way. (The ship name was a tossup between Kolissa and Lisol, and the latter sounded too much like a cleaning product, so Kolissa it was!!) 
> 
> I'm not going to lie, this chapter isn’t completely up to my standards, but I don't have time this coming week to work on it further, and I felt guilty about making y'all wait like another fortnight, especially after the love you've shown me. This is why I'm open to working with a beta if you know any, or wish to offer help - I want to keep the quality of my story high for my wonderful readers.
> 
> Few things I want to draw attention to in this chapter: where do you think Kol is disappearing off to? What do you think Damon and Bonnie are hiding from Kol and Lis? And finally, what’s up with Bertie? 
> 
> Lemme know what you think, and as always, if you have feedback, please feel free to leave it with me! I want nothing more than to improve and make better stories for all of you!!  
> Love you all! xx


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